


all i need is to be struck

by astral_dreams



Series: The Magnus Camp [1]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: All the avatars and other statement givers are the campers, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Gerry works in the kitchen washing dishes, Jon Sims is Grumpy, Martin Blackwood makes lovely tea, Multi, Summer Camp AU !!!, and all the assisstants are the counselors, but trust me on this, the structure of this camp is a bit weird
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:21:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24103552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astral_dreams/pseuds/astral_dreams
Summary: Martin doesn't know what he expected when he signed up to be a camp counselor at the Magnus Camp. But it definitely wasn't the other counselors giving him tips on how to deal with worms, developing an instant crush on his co-counselor who he is sure absolutely hates him, and being assigned Tea Duty.At least camp hasn't started yet.
Relationships: Elias Bouchard/Peter Lukas, Georgie Barker & Jonathan Sims, Gerard Keay & Jonathan Sims, Jonathan Sims & Alice "Daisy" Tonner, Martin Blackwood & Sasha James & Jonathan Sims & Tim Stoker, Martin Blackwood & Sasha James & Tim Stoker, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist (eventual), Sasha James/Tim Stoker
Series: The Magnus Camp [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1739077
Comments: 7
Kudos: 80





	all i need is to be struck

**Author's Note:**

> So this is purely based on the dumb idea I had to write a summer camp au very loosely based on my own experiences at a sleepaway camp. I'm only taking a few ideas from that, like the general layout of the camp and some of the activities, but it's a walk down memory lane nonetheless.
> 
> I also figured that writing this as a series of one shots with a sort of plot would be easier for me then a full out multichapter fic, so that's that. 
> 
> I am very sorry in advance in case the whole entity system doesn't make sense in this context, I tried. same with characterization,it's late at night.
> 
> title is from eleectric love by the borns, because it is one of the songs i associate with summer camps for some reason.

The entrance to the camp was intimidating. When Martin had applied to be a camp counselor online he hadn’t been expecting much. The Magnus Camp broadcasted itself as an ‘educational camp for budding enthusiasts in the supernatural’ and had a reputation of being high quality despite it’s interesting content, so he had been expecting an easy summer teaching kids how to write ghost stories or something. It was widely agreed that the whole aesthetic of Magnus was just a pretentious front to what was an otherwise very wide and diverse camp that taught young kids how to create horror and stories about the paranormal through various mediums. 

Even still this didn’t change the fact that the tall iron gate that was waiting for Martin and his passengers at the end of the dirt road stood tall and brooding. In his passenger seat sat Tim, who was scrolling through his Instagram feed and fiddling with the car’s broken radio. Sasha sat in the back and had been previously reading out directions to the rather secluded camp off Google Maps. Danny, Tim’s younger brother, had fallen asleep watching a video off a tablet. He was the only actual camper out of the four of them, but it was his last year according to Tim. 

Martin had met Tim and Sasha through a university course they shared and the three had quickly become fast friends. How this led to them all signing up to be camp counselors at the camp Tim had gone to as a kid and carpooling on the subsequent drive there was beyond Martin, but he didn’t mind. He would be glad to spend the summer with people he at least knew, even if he was a third wheel part of the time.

Slowing to a stop before the gate, Martin noticed a lady with a clipboard approaching his car. He rolled down the window, but only caught the latter half of what she had said.

“-Camp, can I ask who’s in the car?” 

“Sorry, could you repeat that?” Martin asked.

The lady gave a smile and nodded, “I’m Rosie and welcome to The Magnus Camp. Can I ask who’s in the car?”

Martin gave a small smile back, “Martin Blackwood, Sasha James, and Danny and Tim Stoker. Three of us are supposed to be counselors this year and Danny is a camper. We were told to be here a few days early, but got permission for Danny to be here too.”

Rosie nodded and wrote something down on her clipboard.

“Okay! You’re all set. I see that your stuff was sent ahead. Is this correct?” 

Martin nodded, grateful at not having to worry about driving a summer’s worth of luggage for four people all the way here.

“Your luggage will have been already brought to your respective cabins. Mr. Bouchard will want the three counselors for orientation at 4 but before then you will be free to set up. There are two counselors per cabin. Mr. Stoker and Ms. James will be in cabin 5 by request, though Ms. James should speak to Mr. Bouchard about your rooming. And Mr. Blackwood will be in cabin 3. Your co-counselor is Mr. Sims. Danny already knows which cabin he’s in. That’s about it. See you at dinner!” Rosie told them cheerily.

Martin nodded before rolling his window back up. He started driving forwards silently as Tim directed him towards the parking lot. When they got here, he parked before looking over at Tim.

“Per request? Where was that on the sheet?” he wondered.

Tim caught on to what he meant and answered grinning, “It isn’t, but I promised I asked Head Douche _very nicely_. I figured me and Sash could annoy the campers with how lovey-dovey we are and not make you a third wheel that often. Win-win!”

Martin smiled, exasperated before his facing scrunched up in confusion. “Head Douche?”

“Elias Bouchard, Mr. Douchard, Head Douche, whatever. He runs the camp and I always found him really creepy. But I have figured out a way to get things from him after spending years at this camp. So thus, me and Sash get to room together.”

Martin just sighed and grabbed his backpack. Tim had agreed to give them an unofficial tour of the camp as they made their way to the cabins. Danny had already gone ahead, so the three of them started walking. As they went Tim pointed out the several forests, the sports area, flag poles, fire pit/amphitheater, lake, etc. The entrance had led to another dirt path that brought them to the parking lot, which had a second path that opened up to the main ‘road’ of the camp. On one side were all the fields for sports, and on the right was the lake, fire pit, and forest. At the end of the road they walked was the main hall which acted as both the cafeteria and gathering spot. To it’s right was a row of five cabins with another big building at the end. Tim explained that it was the Rec Hall where most of the indoor activities would take place. 

True to Rosie’s word, in the clearing in front of the nearly identical wooden cabins were a few piles of stuff, each with a paper sign taped to the front. There was one for each of the three of them and one for a man named Jon. Martin could see a few signs without piles more by the other cabins but just assumed that these were from the other counselors. They had gotten a bit late, thanks to Tim making them make constant rest stops.

Grabbing the first of his bags, he started towards the cabin with a big 3 next to the door. The entrance was open, the bright red door propped open with a brick, so he had no trouble maneuvering his things through the doorway. Inside the cabin were two rooms and a hallway/entry room in between. The entry hall had room for shoes, coats, and other things as well as holding the door to the bathroom. He peeked inside the room to the left, it was a smaller room with two beds, obviously meant for the counselors, before dropping his stuff on the free bed. When he walked back outside he looked in the other room. It was a larger room with around 14 empty beds. There was a wooden shelf above them that ran the length of both walls and there was a closet in the back corner. On the wall next to Martin hung a bulletin board. Checking it revealed a schedule for the day and a list of campers (a list of 9 campers total).

It wasn’t until his third trip that he saw who the other occupied bed belonged to. It was a shorter man in his mid-twenties. Martin could see the obvious eye bags on his darker skin and how his disheveled black hair was messily shoved into a bun and he knew he was going to fall for him, hard. And by the look on his face, he knew the other wasn’t going to be an easy crush.

The mystery man had walked into the front door to the cabin while Martin was setting up his bed, so he didn’t notice him at first. Martin was trying to figure out how to stretch his sheets over the two mattresses he had stacked on top of each other. He had taken the liberty of stealing one of the extra mattresses from the campers beds (there were only 9, why did they need 14 beds-) and was trying to maneuver his bedding on top of it. He was on the last corner of his fitted sheet when a voice called out behind him, startling him and sending the whole sheet flying up again and Martin to just shake his head in frustration.

“Why do you have two mattresses?” The voice called out behind him.

The thinly disguised look of judgment on the man’s face is the first thing Martin sees when he turns, so he just sighs and smiles sheepishly.

“Figured the campers didn’t need it, as there are more beds than actual people, so I thought why not. Seemed harmless enough,” he explained, “Anyways, you must be Mr. Sims, Rosie mentioned you. I’m Martin.” 

He held his hand out to the other man who was still scowling at him and waited for a response. After a minute, he sighed before taking Martin’s hand and shaking it.

“And you must be Mr. Blackwood. Rosie also mentioned you. Please just call me Jon.”

Martin smiled, “Well it’s nice to meet you, Jon. Do you need help carrying in any of your stuff? I’m basically done with mine.”

Jon simply nodded and walked towards the door, leaving Martin to follow.

* * *

After they brought in and set up all their things in a strangely silent half an hour, the pair made their way to the main building where Elias had asked them to come for orientation.

Through surprisingly tense small talk Martin had found out that Jon used to go to the summer camp as a child, and like Tim, was coming back as an adult to help. He wouldn’t say much about how good the camp actually was, but did let on that he had known Tim when they were campers, which made Martin a bit less uneasy around him.

He could see Tim and Sasha standing at the door to the main hall talking to a shorter lady with shoulder-length curls and a bright blue t-shirt. Tim looked up, spotting the two, and waved them over.

“I see you’ve met each other. Tell me Martin, has Jon already made an ass of himself, or have you just gotten lucky?” Tim asked as the pair approached, earning himself a glare from Jon.

“I’m not an ass Tim, you’re just fatally annoying,” Jon grumbled.

Martin gave Tim a confused smile before assuring him that Jon has been fine, not wanting to earn any more ire from the man standing right next to him. Moving on to the next topic, he goes to ask Tim who his friend is, but Jon answers for him.

“This is Georgie. She’s the counselor for Cabin 2 and will take any opportunity to tell her about her cat, so be warned,” Jon said seriously.

Georgie glared at him before turning to Martin, “As I was going to introduce myself before someone took that honor from me, I’m Georgie. This idiot and I went to uni together and he just despises that I don’t allow him to visit my cat more. It’s nice to meet you.”

Martin laughed, “I’m sure that would upset anyone. I’m Martin and I would absolutely love to listen about your cat anytime.”

The pair smiled at each other before Tim interrupted. 

“Now that everyone knows each other, we should probably go inside for orientation. I desperately want to avoid it but I also don’t want a lecture from Douche about tardiness. The man might be an asshole, but he knows how to fucking lecture,” Tim complained as they started walking. 

The building was big and almost didn’t fit the aesthetic of a summer camp with its high walls and almost academic feel to it. Tim brought them to a large room with a circle of chairs in it. 3 other people were already in seats - a tall Arab woman wearing a red hijab, a shorter woman with ginger hair in a ponytail and a scar across her face, and an alternative looking woman with dark curly hair in a bun and the edge of a tattoo peeking around her neck. They were all wearing the same bright blue shirt that Georgie had on.

After everyone sat down and got situated, a man walked through the door. He was short and wore an obviously expensive suit, his grey and black hair styled back, and a smug smile on his face. Martin could guess that this was Elias Bouchard, and all he knew was that he hated him instantly.

Elias welcomed them and began with his spiel. During it, he explained how the camp was made to ‘cultivate young creators with an interest in the paranormal’, which was the creepiest thing Martin had ever heard, and how the activities were split into 14 groups. Each group had a theme that was a different basic fear and the campers sorted themselves. The group sizes varied by year and some groups didn’t have any campers some years. He went further on to explain that the groups were generally run by the oldest of the campers in the group and the groups would be supervised in general by the counselors. Some activities would require direct help from the counselors but not all.

He assured them that he would personally tell them if they were assigned to a group that day and followed up by encouraging the counselors to communicate with each other as well. He finished up by mentioning that they should stop by the kitchen and introduce themselves to the staff there, who were apparently also staying in Cabin 1. He then turned and left without saying anything else, leaving the group to sit in silence.

Finally, the girl with the tattoo speaks up.

“Well, he was weird. Figure we should follow his advice and check out the kitchens?”

A few people nodded almost reluctantly and the group slowly made their way down. In that time, introductions were made and Martin found out that the Arab woman was named Basira and was rooming with the lady with the scar (Daisy) in Cabin 4. And that Melanie (who had had a _lot_ of piercings on her ears when you look more closely) was rooming with Georgie.

The Kitchen didn’t have many workers on shift, only an older woman who introduced herself as Gertrude and promptly went back to work and a younger goth kid with a noticeably bad dye job who just mumbled ‘Gerry’ and also went back to work.

“Talkative bunch,” Tim mumbled as they walked towards the tables.

“Gerry isn’t that bad Tim, you know this, he’s just antisocial,” Jon said awkwardly.

“Says Mr. Social himself,” came the response and nothing more.

They spent the rest of the day chatting around the table about nothing at all really, mostly small talk, and Martin found himself relaxing more and more. After his initial introduction with Jon, he had found himself extremely tense and worried about how this summer was going to go. But after meeting the rest of the counselors, his worry lifted a little with the tentative promise of friends, even if they did abuse his ability and willingness to make tea for them.

This would be a good summer, Martin decided.


End file.
